Estimated water requirements for the conventional flotation of copper ores

Open-File Report 2012-1089

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Abstract

This report provides a perspective on the amount of water used by a conventional copper flotation plant. Water is required for many activities at a mine-mill site, including ore production and beneficiation, dust and fire suppression, drinking and sanitation, and minesite reclamation. The water required to operate a flotation plant may outweigh all of the other uses of water at a mine site, [however,] and the need to maintain a water balance is critical for the plant to operate efficiently. Process water may be irretrievably lost or not immediately available for reuse in the beneficiation plant because it has been used in the production of backfill slurry from tailings to provide underground mine support; because it has been entrapped in the tailings stored in the TSF, evaporated from the TSF, or leaked from pipes and (or) the TSF; and because it has been retained as moisture in the concentrate. Water retained in the interstices of the tailings and the evaporation of water from the surface of the TSF are the two most significant contributors to water loss at a conventional flotation circuit facility.

Additional publication details

Publication type:

Report

Publication Subtype:

USGS Numbered Series

Title:

Estimated water requirements for the conventional flotation of copper ores